The present invention relates to a device for anchoring the covering of a fabric broom or mop on its associated support.
xe2x80x9cCotton broomsxe2x80x9d, as it is well known, are commonly used for cleaning floors. These brooms have an active part, consisting of a piece of fabric, which is stretched and maintained in its working position by an associated support in the form of a small panel.
This support, generally made of a resinous plastic material, is composed of several interconnected articulated pieces that are rendered coplanar during normal cleaning operations. The central area of the support has an attachment for the broom handle.
The fabric piece is held in place on the support by means of appendages provided on the extremities of the fabric, through two lever-shaped grips, articulated in seats formed in projections that extend laterally from the extremities of the upper surface of the support.
For proper operation of the above-mentioned broom, it is necessary to maintain adequate tension on the piece of fabric, and a secure attachment of the fabric so that it does not yield when subjected to any unusual demands such as, for example, the insertion of the fabric piece into cracks or the presence of rough spots on a floor being cleaned; it is also necessary that the entire piece of fabric, including its extremities, be capable of being squeezed dry.
With respect to the tension and attachment of the fabric, the means that have been used until today on various types of brooms have been effective. However, methods for squeezing the fabric dry have not yet been completely effective.
In fact, whenever the piece of fabric must be squeezed out, the support, held in place in the center by the handle, is snapped open and its component parts are no longer in parallel alignment, which results in the extremities of the support assuming a downwardly inclined position and the piece of fabric, which is held in place by means of its appendages by the support grips, assumes the configuration of a hanging swag. The extremities of the piece of fabric are no longer completely below the support at this point but partially resting on the support itself.
Prior to immersion for washing and rinsing, the piece of fabric is inserted into an extraction device.
Obviously, the compression obtained with the different types of extraction device affects the portion of the piece of fabric found below the solid components of the support. The portions of the piece of fabric that are resting on the support naturally have to be extracted (squeezed out). This means that the piece of fabric isn""t completely cleaned and continues to have non-extracted parts impregnated with dirty liquid. The effects of this situation are generally manifest during floor cleaning activities. Nor does the use of an extraction device having opposed rollers succeed in completely extracting the piece of fabric. Given the structure of current supports, the rollers are incapable of turning while comprising between them the solid parts of the support and, as a result, are incapable of extracting the extremities of the piece of fabric opposed to the support.
The present invention remedies the above difficulties and provides complete extraction of the piece of fabric, including its extremities, while maintaining appropriate active tension on the piece of fabric and a proper grip on the appendages provided on the piece of fabric.
We describe below the innovations provided by the invention, with respect to current technology, for obtaining complete extraction of the entire piece of fabric, including its extremities.
First: Studs, having an underlying recess, are provided on the upper surface of the support, near its extremities. These studs present cutouts that realize appropriate recesses along a section of their lower part, extending from their region of attachment. The edges of the holes (which may or may not be reinforced with grommets) formed in the appendages of the piece of fabric are inserted into the recesses and consequently, whenever the piece of fabric is stretched, these holes prevent the appendages from lifting up and disengaging from the studs.
Second: The connecting grips have, according to the invention, the shape of a lever, with roughly equal arms. Pins or journals on these lever-shaped grips swivel about lateral shoulders provided near the extremities of the support. The lever arm extending toward the interior of the support is pushed upward by means of an underlying spring, while the opposed lever arm, which extends toward the exterior, is consequently pushed downward while compressing, against the support, the appendages of the piece of fabric, which are connected to the anchoring studs, thus preventing the appendages from disengaging. To enable the arm to assume its function, it is provided with holes in such a way that interference with the underlying studs on the support is prevented.
Third: The lateral shoulders provided along the extremities of the support are designed in such a way as to define, between them, a space in which the connecting studs joined to the support as well as the connecting lever-shaped grips are held in place even when said grips compress the appendages of the piece of fabric inserted beneath these grips.
With these three innovations, we obtain the advantages described below, said innovations being: Studs with underlying recess that extend from the upper surface of the support, the lever-shaped grips articulated on the support, having an arm that exerts pressure on the appendages of the piece of fabric without interfering with the heads of the studs, and the lateral shoulders of the support, which are appropriately shaped so as to define a determinate space between them, from which space neither the studs with the underlying recess nor the connecting grips emerge.
During the cleaning phase, the piece of fabric is stretched appropriately and efficiently attached, its appendages being engaged by their associated holes in the recesses on the connecting studs. When the external parts of the support are in an angular position, the appendages cannot he dislodged from the connecting studs because they are pressed against the support lever arm on each of the connecting grips. During the extraction phase, the presence of the lateral shoulders of the support, whose contour decreases toward the extremity, enable the extremities of the piece of fabric to be extracted whenever an extraction device having opposed rollers is used. These rollers, which turn freely against the lateral shoulders of the support, encounter the terminal regions of the piece of fabric which are opposed to the top of the extremities of the arm of the lever exerting pressure, and thus subjected to extraction.
It should be noted that the piece of fabric is realized, both in length and width, with dimensions that are greater than those of the support, because during cleaning, the fabric may come into contact with the edges and contours of various articles of furniture.
In fabric brooms currently on the market, the portions of the piece of fabric that are longitudinally stretched above the support are not subjected to extraction, and a good portion of the dirt collected during a previous cleaning phase continues to be transported during successive cleaning phases, which alters the quantity and quality of the cleaning process itself.
Another innovative feature compared to existing fabric brooms on the market is inherent in the articulated device on one of the support elements, which, when pressed, is released from the small nose on the contiguous element opposite the support. This release results in the suppression of the planarity of the interarticulated elements constituting the support. This articulated device is realized from a single molded piece, comprising a lip that covers the small nose on the contiguous opposed element, which exists whenever the user wishes to maintain the planarity of the interarticulated elements constituting the support, as well as the articulating pins or journals themselves and the elastic branches that function as springs, which determine the load during operation. This results in a significant economic advantage because of the reduction of manufacturing costs, given that the unit is reduced during molding to a single piece and because of the time savings gained over the assembly of separate components.